Texas’ ban on gender-affirming care will take effect Friday following state Supreme Court ruling

A Texas law that bans gender-affirming care for transgender youth will go into effect as scheduled Friday.

The law will kick in September 1st despite a state district judge’s ruling last week that the law, Senate Bill 14, is likely unconstitutional and discriminates against transgender youth. That decision came after several families, advocacy groups and medical doctors filed a lawsuit to stop the act.

It was temporarily placed on hold, but the Texas Attorney General’s office quickly appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court, which ruled early Thursday the law will be in effect until a final resolution is reached.

“The Supreme Court of Texas has denied appellees' emergency motion for temporary relief in State of Texas v. Loe, allowing SB14 to go into effect on Sept. 1. The direct appeal in this case remains pending before the Court,” the state’s high court posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Under the law, transgender people under 18 years old would be barred from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapies, two of the most common forms of gender-affirming care.